Fire & Smoke Damage Decontamination Guidance

No. Applying paint directly over soot causes severe bubbling, peeling, and allows acidic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to bleed through indefinitely. Surfaces must first be chemically neutralized, dry-sponge cleaned, and sealed with a heavy pigmented shellac primer.

Protein fire soot is almost completely invisible to the naked eye, leaving an amber, sticky residue rather than black ash. Despite being invisible, it has an intense rancid odor that corrodes stainless steel and brass finishes if not chemically degreased immediately.

Ozone is a toxic oxidizer that breaks down natural rubber, plastics, and requires that all humans and pets evacuate the property. Hydroxyl generators safely replicate natural sunlight atmospheric radicals and can run 24/7 in fully occupied homes.

Wood studs with minor surface char depth (less than 1/4 inch) can typically be restored using dry ice blasting to sound wood and sealed with structural encapsulant. If structural calculations indicate more than 10% load capacity loss, framing must be sistered or replaced.

Yes. Structural smoke cleanup, HVAC decontamination, and inventory pack-out are standard covered expenses under residential HO-3 fire coverage. Proper documentation includes swab sampling, thermal imaging, and Xactimate line-item estimates.